The present invention relates to improvements for grips of tennis rackets provided with means for reducing if not eliminating the danger of the racket slipping from the player's hand as a consequence of perspiration.
During a tennis match, usually the hand of the tennis player is subjected to an intense perspiration which wets the leather covering of the racket's handle, thereby impairing the grip so that the racket can even slip out of the player's hand.
It has been already suggested to effect seration of the racket grip by providing, within the grip, a longitudinal hole communicating with transversal holes which extend radially to the outer surface of the grip where they open into corresponding holes provided in the leather covering.
The racket grips known do not provide, however, any seration near the free end of the grip which same comes into contact with the part of the hand which perspires most, namely, where the forefinger joins the palm cavity.
Hence it is a main object of the invention to provide an improved racket grip with aeration means starting from the free end of racket handle.
The grip for tennis rackets according to the invention, includes a longitudinal hole axially extending within said grip, starting from the free end thereof, and a plurality of cross bores or passages extending from said longitudinal hole towards the grooved outer surface of the handle as well as a protective cap applied to the free end of the racket grip and having, on its bottom surface, a central opening aligned with said longitudinal hole, transversal holes or passages being provided up to the lower edge of the grip, some of them cutting through the cross plane of the grip's free end. Furthermore, between the grip's end and the cap's bottom opposite these two, there is provided and formed an aeration chamber communicating through the transversal end passages of the grip with holes provided on the side walls of said cap.
The aeration of the end portion of the racket handle may be furthermore improved by providing on the handle's external surface small netlike cavities crossing each other in correspondence of each transversal passage and opening into the aeration chamber of the cap.
A racket handle of the foregoing design allows for good ventilation of the player's hand. However, for further improving and uniformly distributing the ventilation effect on the whole handle, as well for increasing the resistance of same according to a modified embodiment of the invention, the cavities are formed longitudinally with respect to the handle, starting from the end aeration chamber. The cavities have a width which is less than the the diameter of the cross passages and are spaced at a distance which is less than the distance between said passages, so that the whole surface of the handle is provided with a plurality of small longitudinal cavities so formed as to guarantee a better ventilation effect and provide for an increased slip resistance of the handle.
The ventilation effect is moreover improved by the grip covering tape which is formed with holes having a greater diameter than the width and the distance between adjacent grooves, which ensures that each of the tape bores is always in communication with at least a longitudinal groove, so assuring an aeration effect upon the whole grip surface. From practical tests, it has been found that a grip (handle) for a racket according to the present invention, has given very good results at any point of the grip and has allowed a considerable reduction of perspiration of the hand under strain.